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Turning Point

From my experience dealing with terrorists, I teach you 3 powerful ways in which you can bond with the insurgents in your own life. Knowing how to bond with others is at the root of a fulfilling and happy life.

In his latest book, William Ury, one of the world's best-known experts on negotiation, shows us how we can understand and influence ourselves first, before we engage in difficult conversations and negotiations with others--thus improving our chances for a successful agreement.

The major barrier to mutual interpersonal communication is our very natural tendency to judge and to evaluate, wrote the great psychologist Carl Roger. I explain the four most common forms of judgement and evaluation we use that undermine the quality of our interpersonal relations. Becoming aware of how we judge can help us to become more effective communicators.

We all have dedicated some time wondering about what we would like to see happening in our live this year. The list might include the weight we want to lose, the more time we want to share with friends and family, the steps we will take in our career, etc. In this article, I present a method to turn resolutions into results.

How do you get into the rift state of mind to get back to work? asked me a friend. For a great number of people, September is the month when they get back to work, to school, to the everyday routine, after a time of vacation. How not to feel nostalgia for the vacation and instead step right into a productive state of mind?

When he was 11 years old, Didier witness the killing of his mother. At first he went down a path of self-destruction, but eventually he found the strength to meet and to forgive his mother's killer. The space of death, shaped by violence, terror and death, is preeminently a space of transformation. Didier's story invites us to reflect on the essence of our human nature.

I am often asked this question: Why is it that guerrilla fighters, paramilitary leaders and gang members sit down with you and confess to you? In this post I share my experience and highlight how mindful and empathic listening can engender a transformative experience and is characteristic of peak performance in life.

External events might condition our level of energy and put us in a negative state of mind. But cultivating gratitude and appreciation for all we have in life, is a strategy that helps us to create a positive state of mind, which will help us to face in a productive way the challenges that life provides us with.

On Sunday at 9 PM (ET), CNN will broadcast the film Documented, by Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist and an undocumented American. In this post, Aldo Civico reflects on three life lessons he learned meeting Vargas at an event promoted by Psychology Today and CNN: owning your truth, creating your own destiny, and living with courage.

One mayor barrier to success in business and happiness in life is our inclination to avoid difficult conversations. Learning how to have a difficult conversation at work or in a personal relationship boosts one's confidence and increases one's self-awareness. Here are 3 steps you can take to prep you before engaging in a difficult conversation.

When it comes to leadership, today its less about finding solutions and more about creating new patterns. It’s less about redistribution of skills and more about fostering creative processes. It’s less about competition and more about collaboration. The 4E Leadership presents a framework to develop the qualities of authentic and transformational leadership.

How by listening to a Syrian woman sharing the tragic loss that war brought to her and her village, I experienced the potential for transformation that mindful listening has. Rather than great speakers, we should become great listeners - if we want to have an impact. We can develop this skill by "watching the thinker," as Eckhart Tolle suggests.

Listening is one of the most important skills we need to master. In fact, listening contributes in a fundamental way to our wellbeing and to the quality of our relations. Moreover, by learning how to listen deeply we can become a catalyst for change. But to listen well we need to be aware of the filters that color our communication style.

In his book The Promise of a Pencil, Adam Braun, founder of Pencils of Promise, shares how in following his dream he found purpose in life. Adam Braun's experience reminds us how there is a leader in all of us and how fulfillment in life is achieved when we make a contribution larger than ourselves to the world.

The ability to build trust is essential to our wellbeing and to our success in life. We are aware of this, because when a breach in trust occurs, our world is shattered. Yet, in a world filled with uncertainties, building trust can be a huge challenge. How can we build trust? I share 5 effective strategies I use to build trust in countries affected by armed conflict.

When facing conflict, we often experience anxiety, fear, or anger. Conflicts often hijack our lives and disempower us. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can learn from mediators, who see conflict as positive and as an opportunity for growth and change. What questions do we need to ask ourselves for a more positive experience when we are faced with conflict?

About Turning Point

How can you deal with tough problems or conflicts in your life in a more productive way? How can you improve the quality of your relationships and of your communication? How can you better manage emotions that sometimes hijack your life? How can you improve the performance at work and in your personal life? In this blog, mediator and conflict resolution expert Aldo Civico will help you to model the emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills used by top mediators to transform and resolve the most difficult and seemingly intractable conflicts.